King of the Ghetto

King of the Ghetto is a 1986 British four-part television drama which was aired on BBC Two, it was directed and written by Farrukh Dhondy, and stars Tim Roth. The drama is about racial tensions in the East End of London in the 1980s.

Overview

Set in and around Brick Lane, white Matthew Long mobilises his Bengali neighbours around a squatting campaign in defiance of the Labour-run council. Also, young Bengali vigilantes patrol the streets against National Front skinheads and white liberal Sadie Deedes argues for an Islamic school. Meanwhile, Bangladeshi businessman Timur Hussein accumulates wealth and power by trading profitably with local politicians, criminals and police officers simultaneously.

Cast

Tim Roth as Matthew Long
Zia Mohyeddin as Timur Hussein
Gwyneth Strong as Sadie Deedes
Ian Dury as Sammy
Ajay Kumar as Raja
Dinesh Shukia as Saliq Miah
Aftab Sachak as Riaz Miah
Shelley King as Nasreen Begum
Paul Anil as Jamal Ullah

Reception

In 2014, Dave Hill of The Guardian said, "In King of the Ghetto we see the unfolding of a grassroots struggle... Thirty years on, some things have changed, some have not, but the big themes explored in Dhondy's drama survive."